Women's Basketball | 12/6/2019 10:34:00 AM
Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University women's basketball concludes a three-game home stand on Saturday, Dec. 7 at noon when it hosts Delaware. The Colonials are looking to complete a sweep of this stretch, previously earning wins against Pitt-Johnstown (63-30) and Xavier (71-57). After Saturday, RMU begins its longest road trip of the season of five games, and return to Peoples Court at UPMC Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 against Wagner.
GAME #8
Delaware Blue Hens (2-5, 0-0 CAA) @ Robert Morris Colonials (3-3, 0-0 NEC)
Saturday, December 7, 2019 // Noon // Moon Township, Pa. – Peoples Court at UPMC Events Center (4,000)
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
Notes Package: Delaware // Robert Morris
Tickets: Ticketmaster
History w/ Delaware
Overall: 2-1 | Home: 1-0 | Away: 0-1 | Neutral: 1-0 | Streak: L1
Last Game: Dec. 1, 2016 – Newark, Del. – Delaware 67, Robert Morris 65
This will be the third time in third time in five years that Robert Morris and Delaware have faced off, and the series has been pretty nerve-racking in its history. The Colonials own a 2-1 edge with wins at the 1986 Richmond Tournament and 2015, while the Blue Hens got the better of the 2016 matchup.
Delaware outscored RMU, 19-12, in the final 10 minutes to escape with a 67-65 win on Dec. 1, 2016 in Newark. Rebeca Navarro '17 went 6-of-9 from the field and made five three-pointers to lead the Colonials with 17 points, while Anna Niki Stamolamprou '17 and then-freshman
Nneka Ezeigbo provided 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The last meeting in Moon Township went to RMU, 53-50, thanks to a 32-19 difference in the middle frames.
Megan Smith '18 led the way with 16 points (4-4 3PT) and five rebounds, while Leah Wormack M'16 contributed nine points, five rebounds, and two blocks off the bench.
Scouting the Blue Hens
Delaware, under the direction of third-year head coach Natasha Adair, was selected to finish fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Preseason Poll, with graduate student Nicole Enabosi and senior Samone DeFreese picked as Preseason All-CAA honorees. The Blue Hens are 2-5 in the early stages of 2019-20, with both victories coming at the CSF Titan Classic against Cal State Fullerton (72-55) and Santa Clara (81-80, OT).
Returning from an ACL injury, Enabosi - the 2017-18 CAA Player of the Year - is averaging 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in three games and is shooting 51.5 percent from the floor. She tallied 32 points (12-23 FG, 8-10 FT), eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals in just her second appearance this season, the aforementioned win against Santa Clara. Sophomore guard Jasmine Dickey has started all seven contests and is averaging 13.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, with four double-doubles to her name.
Although it hasn't taken a lot of threes, Delaware is 14th nationally in three-point percentage, converting at a 38.9 percent rate. However, the Blue Hens haven't defended the arc well (.383, 334th in NCAA), struggled with committing fouls (21.6, 328th), and don't block many shots (1.4, 331st).
A BIG Win
For the first time in 38 tries, Robert Morris knocked off a BIG EAST opponent when it handled Xavier, 71-57, on Sunday, Dec. 1. The Colonials led by as many as 28 points in the third quarter, recorded an assist on 21 of their 26 field goals, forced 26 turnovers, and made a season-high 11 three-pointers.
RMU's signature victory over the Musketeers adds to a list that includes Power 5 opponents Virginia Tech in 2010 (66-52) and Purdue in 1982 (67-55). The Colonials also knocked off West Virginia in 1994 (88-80, OT) when the Mountaineers were a member of the Atlantic 10.
In the previous 37 matchups against BIG EAST foes, RMU fell to Cincinnati (0-1), Marquette (0-1), Pittsburgh (0-23), Rutgers (0-1), South Florida (0-1), West Virginia (0-9), and Xavier (0-1).
Nneka Nabs NEC Honors
Senior center
Nneka Ezeigbo was named NEC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 steals in wins against Pitt-Johnstown and Xavier. She converted half of her 18 field goal attempts, made all eight free throws, and posted her 20th career double-double (16 pts, 10 reb) against the Musketeers.
This is the third NEC Player of the Week award in Ezeigbo's career, and her fifth weekly honor in total. She joins Sade Logan '09, Sugeiry Monsac '07, Chinata Nesbit '08, Angela Pace '10, Artemis Spanou '14, and Anna Niki Stamolamprou '17 as the only players in program history to be named NEC Player of the Week three times.
The Defense (Never) Rests
Robert Morris prides itself on its defense and this season is no different. The Colonials rank fourth nationally in turnovers forced (25.29), eighth in turnover margin (+9.86), 14th in steals (12.9), and 74th in scoring defense (58.1) - all of those numbers topping the conference circuit.
Last season, RMU slotted 12th in the NCAA in scoring defense (55.3), 24th in turnovers forced (20.18), 26th in turnover margin (+4.18), and 32nd in steals (9.9). The Colonials have posted a top-25 scoring defense in each of the last three seasons, coming in at 25th in 2016-17 (57.0), and eighth in 2017-18 (54.1). The 2017-18 mark in a school record, breaking the previous standard set the year prior.
RMU is in the midst of an impressive streak, causing double-digit turnovers in each of its last 138 games. In 63 of those contests, the Colonials have forced 20 or more turnovers from their opponent.
No Easy Outs
There hasn't been an easy out in the early stages of the Colonials' schedule, as their seven opponents have combined to post a 33-17 record thus far. TCU remains undefeated at 6-0 and is receiving votes in the AP Top 25 Poll, while Pitt-Johnstown (7-1), La Salle (6-3), Kent State (5-2), Columbia (4-3), and Youngstown State (4-3) are all over .500.
RMU's three losses this season have come by a combined eight points. The remainder of the non-conference slate features three more teams with winning records in Rhode Island (5-2), Norfolk State (4-3), and James Madison (6-2). At the moment, only Xavier (1-5) and Delaware (2-5) have losing records on the Colonials' schedule.
Insurmountable Lead
Robert Morris has never lost a game in which it has held the lead at the end of the second half. The Colonials are 4-0 in such situations this season, and went 22-0 last season. All-time, RMU is 624-0 when holding the lead at the final whistle.
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